Genealogy Subscription Costs:One Way to Reduce Them

Fed up with high genealogy subscription costs? I’ve seen many a complaint about this, with
the ‘grandaddy’ of them all, Ancestry – the one with the most records, and also
the most expensive site – being the target of many of these complaints.

I tend to agree with posts by bloggers, such as Dick Eastman, who point out that, to
do research the old-fashioned way, it would be much more expensive than $300
per year. You would have to take a
weekend and/or vacation time in order to travel to the relevant archival
facility, book a hotel for several days, incur driving or airfare costs,
purchase meals, et cetera, all of which would yield you only a few documents,
if you were lucky.

When you think of it that way, a $300-per-year annual genealogy subscription to all
records on their sites, worldwide, is actually quite a bargain – and, given the
indexing that has been done and the documents that have been digitized and
placed online, the time required to locate relevant documents is significantly
reduced. Further, this research can be done
from the comfort of your home, with no transportation, lodging, or meal costs!

Nevertheless, a $300 outlay can be a significant amount for someone to pay,
if, for example, they are retired and living on a fixed income. So, here’s a strategy that might prove
useful!

The Strategy: Introduction

Let's use Ancestry as an example, as it is the oldest, largest and best-known of the subscription-based genealogy websites.

As you no doubt are aware, Ancestry has operations in many different
jurisdictions. For researchers in Canada, the US,
and Australia,
for example, there is an Ancestry website dedicated specifically to each of
those countries.

The problem, of course, is that Canada,
the US, and Australia
are countries founded by immigrants.
Other than the indigenous peoples in each country, their populations all
came from elsewhere. Also, specifically
in North America, there was a great deal of movement between Canada and the U.S., in both directions.

Sooner or later, then, it is very likely that you will find that you need to
expand your research into another country, to continue your family tree
research.

For me, with ancestors mainly in the British Isles whose descendants have
spread through the US, Canada, Australia,
South Africa, and more, I
need a Worldwide subscription, rather than one catering only to my home country
of Canada.

The ‘Nitty Gritty’: A Bit of Math

Let’s take a look at Ancestry’s current rates (as of January 2013). For ease of reference, I will refer only to
annual subscription rates, although each country has other types of
genealogy subscriptions available.

Australia

Canada

UK

USA

In-Country Only

AU$215.40*

C$119.40

₤107.40

US$77.70*2 = US$155.40**

Worldwide

AU$299.88

C$299.40

₤155.40

US$149.70*2 = US$299.40**

*Australia has two levels of coverage: the "UK Heritage" Basic plan, which include key Australian and UK records only, and the "UK Heritage Plus”, which provides access to records in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and Ireland. I have included the "UK Heritage Plus" plan here.

**At the present time, the US site does not offer an annual subscription. The longest genealogy subscription available is for 6 months. I have multiplied the US’s 6-month subscription rate by two, so as to provide a useful comparison.

Looking at the chart, it is clear that the pricing for the individual countries varies considerably, depending on
the depth of coverage and the number of documents which have been scanned and
are available online, and on the size of the population.

A quick glance also tells you that, if a person needed a genealogy subscription, say,
to Canada and the US, assuming that the Canadian and US dollars are
approximately at par (as they are at present), the price of purchasing both
subscriptions (C$119.40 + US$155.40) amounts to about $275. It therefore is likely that a worldwide
subscription, for an additional $25, would be a better investment.

Comparing the pricing for the Worldwide subscription across all four
countries, it is clear that the intention is for a worldwide genealogy subscription to be
approximately US$300 per year, expressed in the local currency.

Currency Conversions: Foreign Exchange

Many of us have travelled to other countries, and have done the ‘mental
gymnastics’ necessary to translate a price in the local currency into our
home-country currency, to give some sort of reference point as to whether an
item is well priced.

Also, in this computerized age, many of us now order things over the
internet from other countries and in other currencies, using credit cards or PayPal accounts.

For example, my husband is British, and his immediate family (which includes
teenaged nieces and nephews), all live in England. When it comes time for birthdays and
Christmas presents, I turn to a variety of British sites offering gift
certificates of interest to the recipient.

This past Christmas, I ordered gift certificates from Amazon.co.uk for the
teenagers, and asked to have them delivered via e-mail the day before
Christmas. My credit card statement
contains the amount paid in British pounds, plus the exchange rate and the
Canadian-dollar equivalent.

Similarly, with respect to an Ancestry "World Deluxe"
genealogy subscription, there is nothing to say that you must sign up in your home
country. Whichever country you choose to place your subscription with, you still
have the same access to all of the Ancestry records, worldwide.

Let’s look at
that chart again, for the Worldwide genealogy subscription, and do a bit of math:

Australia

Canada

UK

USA

Worldwide Subscription - Annual Rate

AU$299.88

C$299.40

₤155.40

US$149.70*2= US$299.40**

Converted to AU$

AU$299.88

AU$289.97

AU$239.13

AU$289.89

Converted to C$

C$309.65

C$299.40

C$246.92

C$296.25

Converted to UK₤

₤194.84

₤188.42

₤155.40

₤186.46

Converted to US$

US$312.91

US$302.51

US$249.50

US$299.40

For each country, I have converted the funds listed in the first row into each of the listed currencies, using the currency converter on www.xe.com. As you may be aware, the values of one currency in relation to another are constantly changing.

I have highlighted the lowest-cost option on each line.

For example, if you lived in Australia, you could purchase a worldwide subscription from the Australian site at AU$299.88; from the Canadian site at AU$289.97; from the UK site at AU$239.13; and from the US site at AU$289.89.

The Results

Look at the results: whether you live
in Australia, Canada, or the US,
you can save money by purchasing your worldwide genealogy subscription through the UK
site! That is:

An Australian purchasing a worldwide
subscription can save about AU$60 a year by purchasing his/her subscription
through the UK site
(AU$299.88 at home versus AU$239.13 through the UK site);

A Canadian purchasing a worldwide subscription
through the UK site can save
about C$52 (C$299.40 at home versus $246.92 through the UK site); and

An American purchasing a worldwide subscription
through the UK site could
save about US$50 (US$299.40 at home,
versus $249.50 through the UK
site).

No such luck for our UK friends, though, as at present, their rate is the least expensive!

As noted above, the value of one currency against another is constantly
changing. That means, of course, that
you will not get exactly these numbers when you attempt to do the ‘number
crunching’.

It is also possible that, in future, the values will change, so that it may
be less expensive to subscribe through a different country. However, it is still worth doing the
comparison, to see if some savings can be had by taking advantage of the
foreign exchange rates.

A Real-Life Example

When my Ancestry genealogy subscription came up for renewal a couple of years back, I
was essentially between jobs, and was having trouble justifying paying about
$300 for my subscription.

I played around with the subscription rates, as detailed above, and
discovered that it was less expensive to renew through the UK site than to
purchase a worldwide subscription through the Canadian site.

In addition to the above savings obtained simply as a result of taking
advantage of the foreign exchange rates, I was given one free month, and was
credited for the 10 days or so remaining in my prior subscription.

In short, my out-of-pocket expenses ended up just under C$200, simply
because I used the British site, rather than the Canadian site, to do the
renewal.

The following year, I again renewed through the UK site, after repeating the above exercise. (Can you tell I'm 1/4 Scottish?!?) My recollection is that I paid about C$220, thereby saving myself approximately C$80 off the price I would have paid by subscribing through the Canadian site!

Conclusion

Checking the rates in other countries, and finding out what you would pay in your country's money if purchased through the other country's website, therefore, is well worth
considering. There will always be a difference in the
genealogy subscription rates from country to country for the same offering, usually as a
result
of foreign exchange variations.

I have used Ancestry as an example. However, this strategy will work for any
subscription where the company is operating in two or more countries, or where
the same item is offered for sale in two different countries, at different
prices. It's worth doing a bit of math to find out whether substantial savings
can be had in this manner!